Daddy can still put the smack down!

I'm getting in a blogging groove.

Seems like once a week is just right. I don't tend to forget too much and I'm not usually grasping for material.
1. I don't think I can watch any more of this political stuff on tv. First Huckabee is too spiritual, now Obama who can't possibly have an inkling of Christianity (I pass this judgment because of his not only pro-death stance but his radical extremism of supporting partial-birth abortion) is under fire for having a pastor that is a black supremist. They berate Huckabee for his faith and then commend Obama for his, rambling on about how he is personifying true Christianity by loving the sinner not the sin etc... It's so obviously slanted, I just can't even stand to watch it.
2. I finally sold the couches. We are couchless as of this afternoon. I netted $160 on the vintage one I've been trying to sell for almost three weeks and now I get to go furniture shopping and try to do it all over again. God bless Jody for staying married to me when I put him through such hoops. The girls are just troopers about it all. They crack me up and always remind me of the Dave Ramsey quote "sell so much stuff that the kids think they're next." Eden walked up to me with a roll of shelf paper in the garage today and said "Mom, are you going to sell this or can I open it?" LOL! Every time I turn around the kids say something like "is this for us or are you going to sell it?" I just crack up so bad and it's so true. So true and so fun!
3. I've sold three moby wraps this month and have two more people who want to pick one up this week. The moby business in Colorado is unreal. Part of me thinks I should scrimp every bit of that profit to open a store someday.The realistic part of me knows I will use every bit of that profit to pay off our debt and get ready to buy a house!
4. We had an open house at the house in Kasson this weekend and I'm really praying and hoping something will turn up soon but we haven't heard any positive news on that front whatsoever yet.
5. My little brother Daniel, is pondering matrimony. It's slightly surreal but equally exciting to me. We don't have weddings in our family very often. He's after an amazing girl and we're all crossing our fingers. She's a doll.
6. Nick got his fourth tooth this week.
7. We went to the goat dairy in Niwot on Tuesday. The girls had a wonderful time, petting goats and touring the dairy.
8. We went to the mall today and the kids rode a little train around the mall. They thought it was fabulous. I thought it was much more fabulous than the giant slide I had to carry Kaitlyn up and then ride down five times the last time we went.
9. The Financial Peace University class we are taking is simply AMAZING. If I could recommend anything to everyone I know, it wouldn't be home birth, cloth diapering, breast feeding, homeschooling, doula support or any of the things that everyone knows I advocate hardcore... it would be that every person I know should take this class or order the kit and listen to every cd. I am so impressed with the presentation and information. It has radically changed our life. Last month we didn't think our income was going to be as large as our monthly bills with the Colorado rental and mortgage. This month we BUDGETED over $700 towards debt reduction. To make matters more amazing, as the month is progressing it's looking like we might be able to pay extra. How's that? For the first time in our lives, we know exactly how much to spend on a house and how long to finance it for and stay within our limits financially. As I can see, we will be debt free aside from mortgage by July or August. This would never have happened if we hadn't taken this course. Never. Dave Ramsey makes me think about things I've never thought about.

Well, what's new people?

I don't have alot to chat about but I'd love to hear from the world of people who don't blog. Shoot me an email. Let me know what's new.
Here's a little rant. I saw on the news that the flu vaccine is approximately 50% effective this year. Pretty much like every other year. When are people going to stand up and say GEE... washing my hands is more effective than that. Maybe I should skip having them shoot some mystery mix into me every year and handing them a $20 bill. Maybe this is just another fantastic money making idea fabricated by the "health" industry, otherwise known as the "sickness" industry. It's so wearisome to me. There is no proof whatsoever that they are saving any lives with that stupid vaccine and yet they even have the news stations under their thumb touting that everybody within this certain age group or that "must have it". Whatever. I'd rather spend my money on books or a coffee now and then. Hello world, there's no easy way out of illness, you must be scrupulously careful, wash your hands regularly and avoid doctors offices and hospitals at all cost! LOL! Flu vaccines are just like all of the other quick fixes out there... they don't work.
On a lighter note, Kaitlyn makes me pretend she's my mother now. It's exhausting when we're in role I have to ask if I can do things, I have to sit in her lap and make whatever cookies she tells me to.
Eden is so ready for school I can't wait! She's going to love it so much. She goes around sounding things out all of the time. It's a hobby now. She has actually taught Kaitlyn how to rhyme. It's so cool. Kait told me today, "I know a rhyme... pee.... tea." Seriously, I thought that was so awesome.
Nick still doesn't sleep worth a darn at night. Sometimes I blame myself for not working harder at teaching him to sleep and sometimes I just go grab him and snuggle up in the big chair and hold him. He burrows down into my chest and sleeps. I'm so tired but I just can't believe this is my last chance to hold my own baby. He's a doll. He loves to take things apart and is a complete rebel about diaper changes. Today we went to a couple of stores and he had a bobber from a fishing pole with him. He carried it the whole time. He put it down one time on a shelf at the bookstore and then Eden handed it to him and he hung onto it the rest of the time, even when he was asleep. He's all boy. I just love him to pieces. I guess we only get a little while for them to be babies for two reasons. 1. So we don't lose our minds. 2. So we don't get too attached to it.
Better get dinner started before Anmchara gets home. It's tilapia, asparagus and rice tonight. Sound so blah.
The budgeting continues to get better and better. Jody and I can't believe how quickly we're going to knock this down. The only possible monkey wrench is that blasted house in Kasson. I still can't sleep at night for thinking about it.

Another weekend in the land of shining promise

We've been attending a financial planning class for four weeks now. It's thirteen weeks long and very comprehensive. Jody and I feel like someone has opened our eyes and handed us the key to our future. I think it started as a seed when I made friends with Knelly and she told me they were buying a house and furnishing it for $500 because that was the cash they had on hand in their budget and they were leaving the furnishings in their old house and renting it. I thought it was crazy and if I were married to her husband I'd kill him for putting an expectation like that on me. Then I examined why I though that way. Then Jody's job in Minnesota petered out. Then... I started thinking that way. Then Jody started to think that way. Boy are we glad we lightened our load before we moved! Now we live in a teeny little house and I've again copied Knelly and started buying and selling furniture. It's so fun! My goal is to make $400 a month and our financial future is looking up. It is so liberating to focus on making money instead of spending it. It's so exciting to think about our future and our childrens future with a plan and determination. It's downright liberating to not be constricted with wondering if we have enough money for something. We know. We have a budget and that's it. I never realized how much guilt I was walking around under until we created this budget. Every dollar I spent, I felt guilty for. Now I have a plan, and I'm supposed to spend that dollar on that, so it's good! Finally, we feel like we're starting to understand money in a way that nobody ever explained it, and it gives us a feeling of confidence.
Shining budget moments:
We almost got shortchanged $10 and our envelope system with the log made it apparent. Jody went back into the gas station and got our $10. It felt so GOOD!
We had considered taking a car loan on within the next year because we really wanted to buy Jody's dad's truck. Now we are actually examining our motives and thinking a little more strategically about vehicles.
Today I have a buyer coming to look at a couch. If he buys it, I'll make a profit of $190.
We have destroyed all of our credit cards.
We are running like gazelles to escape debt and we are loving it.
On Friday, Jody took Eden skiing for the first time. It was so fun to watch! She's going to be a great skiier.
We also went to the park. It was 76 degrees on Saturday so why not?
Jody had planned a ski trip with some buddies on Sunday but the weather prevented it. I think he was really disappointed but he was good about it and spent the day with us, doing laundry and puzzles. He'll be taking a ski trip with the people at work on Friday.
The girls are so entertaining. They're out on the trampoline right now and I'm watching them through the window as I type. There's a crust of snow on it and they have their little brooms out there, sweeping away. I wouldn't dream of telling them that it would be melted within a couple of hours even if they didn't sweep it.
I'm still praying for Huckabee's miracle and the girls pray that Unky Dunky won't get shotted in Iraq every night.